Handheld packet for one-handed operation

ABSTRACT

A handheld packet designed for one-handed operation with an elongated tab portion that can be gripped between the thumb and forefinger of the hand holding the packet. The elongated tab serves as a moment arm for breaching the neck of the packet when the elongated tab is pulled away from the packet. Breaching the neck portion of the packet permits the contents of the packet can be removed. The neck portion of the packet can be scored or serrated to further facilitate breaching the neck portion and opening the packet. The tab portion can be made from a textured material to increase grip, and the packet can be formed from layers of materials with different properties to enable storage of food, medicine, dangerous or sensitive chemicals, or other substances.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to generally to flexible containers and specifically to sealed packets of a size to be held and opened in a single hand, in particular. The packet is suitable for use when use of two hands for opening a small container is inconvenient, impracticable, or impossible.

2. Background of the Invention

It is not uncommon for one hand to be in use when both hands are needed for another task. Indeed, it is an oft-heard complaint that an individual only has two hands when three or four are desired, or even necessary.

Some instances where a person yearns for an extra limb are simple inconveniences, and could appear at first blush to be the subject of an old comedy routine. Such situations, however, loose their comedic value when the observer becomes the victim of the inconvenience, and experiences the resulting frustration first-hand. The great difficulty of a condiment packet that requires two hands to open in order to add ketchup, mustard, relish, and the like to a hotdog or hamburger is apparent to any individual who has juggled food, hungry children, and sanity at a baseball game or other sporting event.

Although it may not be advisable, many people choose to eat in their cars while driving, and a packet that requires two hands to open makes it more likely that some of these people will resort to extreme measures such as steering with their knees rather than their hands while preparing food for their fast-paced consumption. Containers that require two hands to open may also necessitate that people purchasing coffee and other hot drinks at dive-through windows place the hot drink containers between their legs while they use two hands to open packets of creamer and sugar, a precarious placement indeed. At least one lawsuit and a great deal of notoriety and bad public relations might have been avoided if only two hands had not been required for coffee additives.

Carpenters often work in inconvenient or even dangerous environments, and they often have more tools than hands at a given time. For example, when joining two pieces of wood together, especially when away from the convenience of a well laid out and stocked work table or shop, a carpenter might well need to use a small container or packet of glue while at the same time holding a piece of wood in each hand. Using any container of glue in such a situation is difficult, but this difficulty is only exacerbated by containers that require two hands to hold them. Similar scenarios could be envisioned for any number of small items a carpenter might have regular but small need of. Such a situation is even more trying, however, when the carpenter in question is a home-owner who is doing his or her own repair work, and might need only a small amount of glue for a project. Although the needs are smaller, the available products are not necessarily similarly reduced, and so a home-owner may very well be forced to deal with the specialized equipment for professionals that even the professionals find frustrating and difficult to use.

When on the go, parents of young children are forced to carry around painfully large bags of supplies for changing infants. To make matters worse, even when a parent of an infant manages to find a baby-changing table or suitable substitute, that parent is often faced with the difficulty of trying to hold the infant still while at the same time open the various containers of baby powder and the like with only a single hand, contorting himself or herself in a nearly futile attempt to keep the infant safe and still and successfully use with a single hand a product container clearly designed for two.

First-aid kits are necessary life-saving devices. The utility of a first-aid kit is vastly reduced, however, when an injured person is alone, and has an injury that limits or eliminates use of a hand or arm. Even if another person is present to aid the injured person, the person giving aid might require a hand to be reserved for holding a flashlight in a dark environment, applying pressure to an open wound, or be otherwise occupied. Packets of antibiotic agents, analgesics, anti-inflammatory agents, liquid bandages, and other medications that can only be accessed with two hands are therefore of limited utility in many serious, life-threatening situations.

Another of the innumerable other situations in which a packet requiring two hands to operate is of reduced utility is use of glove boxes in chemical research. Glove boxes are used to work with chemicals that are sensitive to air or moisture, or are extremely hazardous to humans. Despite such work often requiring the utmost care and delicacy, when working in a glove box a researcher's arms are encased in thick rubber gloves that extend into an inert atmosphere chamber. These gloves are often so unwieldy and encumbering that even the simplest of manipulations, such as opening up a packet of O-rings or vacuum grease can become both time-consuming and infuriating, especially as the researcher's arms become slicked with perspiration in the heavy, non-breathing material.

The difficulties are not merely situational, however. Persons that have undergone amputations, have otherwise lost use of a hand, or have significantly lessened use of at least one hand, whether it is caused by nerve damage, Parkinson's disease, or any number of other conditions and ailments, can have great difficulty making use of the ubiquitous two-handed containers found throughout modern society. The lives of persons with these disabilities or illnesses are needlessly complicated and worsened in a world where so many products are designed to require two-handed operation.

BRIEF SUMMARY

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a handheld packet for one-handed operation. The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates the above-referenced deficiencies associated with current handheld packets designed for two-handed operation. More specifically, the invention is a handheld packet for one-handed operation comprising a packet with a packet exterior surface and a packet interior surface. The packet interior surface defines an enclosed interior space. A neck portion of the packet is defined by a breachable portion of the packet exterior surface, as well as a portion of the packet interior surface and a portion of the enclosed interior space. The neck portion also defines a neck exterior surface. A tab portion is attached to the packet at the neck portion. This tab portion is an elongated lever arm for exerting a breaching force on the neck portion. When held firmly between a thumb and a forefinger of a hand holding the packet, the tab portion can be pulled away from the remainder of the packet. Pulling the tab portion in such a manner will generate a breaching force that will rupture the neck portion and expose the formerly enclosed interior space allowing the contents of the packet to be removed.

In order to minimize the breaching force required to rupture the neck portion and expose the formerly enclosed interior space, the neck exterior surface can be scored. A scored neck exterior surface aids in concentrating the breaching force in a smaller area than without the scored surface, and weakens the structural integrity of the neck portion as the breaching force ruptures the packet. The neck exterior surface can define an edge that is scored, particularly where the scored edge is directly below the elongated aspect of the tab portion where the breaching force generated by the lever arm is greatest. The neck exterior surface can also define an edge that is serrated to similar effect. Additionally the tab portion can be made from material with a texture providing increased surface friction for use in gripping the tab portion and utilizing it as a lever arm.

The packet, or layers of the packet, can be made from materials suitable for containing solids, liquids, gels, or gases. The materials from which the packet is formed can be flexible so that the contents can be squeezed out, especially when the contents are liquids or gels. Durable materials can be used to form the packet in order to safely store sharp or pointed objects. Other materials can be chosen to protect the contents of the packet from static electricity, moisture, air, lights, or other environmental factors that could cause the contents of the packet to degrade, react, or otherwise be harmed.

Further, the packet, or the inner surface of the packet in particular, can be formed from materials that satisfy the appropriate government regulations for hygienic storage of food or sterile storage of medicinal products. The appropriate materials for these purposes are well-known to those versed in the Art.

The exterior surface of the packet can be made from a printable material. Here, a printable material indicates any material upon which graphics or text can be printed or otherwise displayed. Using a printable material permits the packet to be labeled so as to identify the contents or to otherwise provide information about the contents on the packet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These, as well as other features of the present invention, will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side-view of a handheld packet for one-handed operation in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, showing a packet, a neck portion, and a tab portion;

FIG. 1 a is a partial side-view of the packet of the first embodiment of the invention, with the packet shown in an opened state;

FIG. 2 is a side-view of a handheld packet for one-handed operation in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, showing a scored neck portion, a scored edge, and a textured tab portion; and

FIG. 3 is a side-view of a handheld packet for one-handed operation in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention, showing a serrated neck portion along with a cut-away view of the interior of the packet emphasizing a layered material construction.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and the detailed description to indicate the same elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating alternative embodiments of the present invention only and not for purposes of limiting the same, shown in FIGS. 1-3 are a first embodiment, a second embodiment, and a third embodiment, respectively, of the invention.

The first embodiment, shown in FIG. 1, is a handheld packet for one-handed operation 10 including a neck portion 20, and a tab portion 30. The packet 110 defines a packet exterior surface 12 and a packet interior surface 14. The packet interior surface defines an enclosed interior space 16, the boundaries of which are delineated by boundary 18. The neck portion of the packet 20 is defined by a breachable portion of the packet exterior surface 22, as well as a portion of the packet interior surface 24 and a portion of the enclosed interior space 26. The neck portion also defines a neck exterior surface 28. The tab portion 30 is attached to the packet at the neck portion. The tab portion 30 is an elongated lever arm for exerting a breaching force 32 on the neck portion 20. When held firmly between a thumb and a forefinger of a hand holding the packet, the tab portion 30 can be pulled away from the remainder of the packet 10. Pulling the tab portion 30 in such a manner will generate a breaching force 32 that will rupture the neck portion 20 and expose the formerly enclosed interior space 16 allowing the contents of the packet to be removed.

When the tab portion 30 is used as an elongated lever arm for exerting a breaching force 32 on the neck portion 20, the neck portion 20 is breached creating an orifice 34, shown in FIG. 1 a, at or near the breachable portion of the packet exterior surface 22, shown intact in FIG. 1. The orifice 34 permits a substance within the pouch interior volume 16 of the packet 10 to be discharged. When the packet 10 is made from flexible materials, the substance can be discharged by squeezing the packet 10 with the hand.

The second embodiment, shown in FIG. 2, is a handheld packet for one-handed operation 110 including a neck portion 120 and a tab portion 130. The packet 10 defines a packet exterior surface 12 and a packet interior surface 14. The packet interior surface defines an enclosed interior space 112. The neck portion of the packet 20 is defined by a breachable portion of the packet exterior surface 22, as well as a portion of the packet interior surface 24 and a portion of the enclosed interior space 26. The neck portion 120 also defines a neck exterior surface 28. The tab portion 130 is attached to the packet at the neck portion 120. The tab portion 130 is an elongated lever arm for exerting a breaching force 32 on the neck portion 120. In order to minimize the breaching force 32 required to rupture the neck portion 120 and expose the formerly enclosed interior space 112, the neck exterior surface 28 can be scored 122. A scored neck exterior surface 122 aids in concentrating the breaching force 32 in a smaller area than without the scored surface 122, and weakens the structural integrity of the neck portion 120 as the breaching force 32 ruptures the packet 110. The neck exterior surface 28 can define an edge that is scored 124, particularly where the scored edge 124 is directly below the elongated aspect of the tab portion 130 where the breaching force 32 generated by the lever arm is greatest. Additionally the tab portion 130 can be made from material with a texture 132 providing increased surface friction for use in gripping the tab portion 130 and utilizing it as a lever arm.

The third embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, is a handheld packet for one-handed operation 210 including a neck portion 220 and a tab portion 230. The packet 210 defines a packet exterior surface 12 and a packet interior surface 212. The packet interior surface defines an enclosed interior space 214. The neck portion of the packet 20 is defined by a breachable portion of the packet exterior surface 22, as well as a portion of the packet interior surface 24 and a portion of the enclosed interior space 26. The neck portion 220 also defines a neck exterior surface 28. The tab portion 230 is attached to the packet at the neck portion 220. The tab portion 230 is an elongated lever arm for exerting a breaching force 32 on the neck portion 220. The neck exterior surface 28 can define an edge that is serrated 222, particularly where the serrated edge 222 is directly below the elongated aspect of the tab portion 230 where the breaching force 32 generated by the lever arm is greatest.

The packet 210 of the third embodiment is formed from an exterior layer of material 216 and an interior layer of material 218. The exterior layer of material 216 is a printable material. The interior layer of material 218 is a material suitable for the safe and effective containment of the substance stored within the enclosed interior space 214. The interior layer of material 218 can be, but is not limited to, a material that is food-safe, sterile, or chemically resistive. A food-safe material would have application for the storage of numerous substances suitable for human consumption including, but not limited to, condiments such as ketchup, mustard, relish, and the like. A sterile material would have application for use with medicinal products including, but not limited to, antibiotic agents, analgesics, anti-inflammatory agents, liquid bandages, and other medications. A chemically resistive material can have properties allowing for safe and effective storage of chemicals that are caustic, toxic, poisonous, acidic, basic, pyrophoric, air sensitive, hydroscopic, light sensitive, or have any number of other properties for which particular storage or handling measures are required.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various shapes of packets and various materials of construction. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments. 

1. A handheld packet for one-handed operation comprising: a. a packet defining a packet exterior surface, the packet further defining a packet interior surface that defines an enclosed interior space; b. a neck portion of the packet defined by a breachable portion of the packet exterior surface, the packet interior surface, and the enclosed interior space, the neck portion defining a neck exterior surface; and c. a tab portion attached to the packet at the neck portion, the tab portion being an elongated lever arm for exerting a breaching force on the neck portion.
 2. The packet of claim 1 wherein the neck exterior surface is scored.
 3. The packet of claim 1 wherein the neck exterior surface defines a scored edge.
 4. The packet of claim 1 wherein the neck exterior surface defines a serrated edge.
 5. The packet of claim 1 wherein the tab portion defines a tab exterior surface having a texture providing increased surface friction relative to a smooth surface.
 6. The packet of claim 1 wherein a portion of the packet is formed from layered materials.
 7. The packet of claim 1 wherein a portion of the packet is flexible.
 8. The packet of claim 1 wherein a portion of the packet defining an exterior surface of is formed from a printable material.
 9. The packet of claim 1 wherein the packet interior surface is formed from a material suitable for the safe and effective containment of the substance stored within the enclosed interior space.
 10. The packet of claim 9 wherein the packet interior surface is formed from a food-safe material.
 11. The packet of claim 9 wherein the packet interior surface is formed from a sterile material.
 12. The packet of claim 9 wherein the packet interior surface is formed from a chemically resistive material. 